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My Hippie Teachers Are Dying or Already Dead

The Pennsylvania escapees, hours away
from freedom, are caught in a Houston motel room
with the phone numbers of one whore,
a Pizza Hut, and Beer World by their beds.
Only hours away from Mexico
where Kerouac
fucked and drank —

You go to Mexico if you don't want to be found.
You go to Texas if you want to be executed.

I found On the Road when I was ten,
on the day John Lennon died.
My aunt rolled herself her last one
in front of the Zenith
interrupting my reading
to teach me
the lyrics of some song.

— Daniela Buccilli

Daniela Buccilli lives in Gibsonia. She earned her MFA at the University of Pittsburgh and is a member of the Madwomen in the Attic. Her poetry has recently appeared in Main Street Rag and Italian Americana.Many writers featured in Chapter & Verse are guests of Prosody, produced by Jan Beatty and Ellen Wadey. Prosody airs every Saturday morning on 90.5 FM.